The Driver’s Perspective

After nearly 1,400 miles of operating a motorhome around Iceland, I’m so happy to announce that we survived my driving! Looking back on those first few moments in the vehicle 10 days ago, I was far from confident in my ability to avoid hitting Icelandic objects (as evidenced by my last-minute decision to purchase a little extra damage insurance at the rental counter). Following a flash overview of the 22-foot vehicle I’d be motoring around for the next week and a half, I think I was still in a little bit of shock that they were actually letting me drive away. Here were the facts of the situation:

• I was running on about 45 minutes of sleep
• I had never driven an RV
• I had not driven a manual transmission in a decade
• I had never driven in Iceland
• I had certainly never driven a manual transmission RV in Iceland after 45 minutes of sleep

Nevertheless, we were off! It took me awhile to remember how to drive a stick and to get used to the size of this beast-on-wheels (I lost count how many curbs I jumped on righthand-turns), but it really was mostly smooth sailing, and in the end I LOVED driving that giant Fiat around this magnificent island. Other posts have described well the beauty and grandeur that we experienced, so I thought I’d pass along some specific things I noticed from the driver’s seat.

The vast majority of our driving was on the main highway that goes all the way around the island, called the Ring Road, or Route 1. With very few exceptions, this is a two-lane road with a speed limit that maxes out at 90 km/hr. Our vehicle felt wider than one of the lanes, but I know the lanes had to be just wide enough because whenever we passed a large motorhome, bus, or semi truck headed the other direction, we were still alive and untouched after I reopened my eyes. Here’s a list of some memorable situations from the driving experience:

• The two-lane highway occasionally turned into a single-lane bridge or tunnel where we would take turns with any oncoming traffic (one side comes to a halt). This required a bit of skill in judging who was closest to the single-lane section as both cars are hurtling towards it at 70-90 km/hr. Thankfully our good buddy Trevor (aka Mr. Cox) was nearly always the lead car in our caravan and was typically the one to make the call
• Hundreds or maybe thousands of sheep apparently love to make their home on the highway’s edge, and occasionally decide to venture onto the road itself. I couldn’t count how many sheep I passed that were mere feet from the road, slowly chewing some delicious grass, seemingly indifferent to my existence as I sailed past
• As if it weren’t bad enough trying to squeeze two vehicles next to each other on this road, there are also cyclists and walkers/runners to contend with. I’m sure the views are amazing, but being on foot or on a bicycle on the Ring Road looks so incredibly dangerous, I would not recommend it!
• We drove through clouds one day after a very long, steep climb. I’m not sure how high we were, but we ended up in the middle of a very thick cloud cover for about 10 minutes before emerging above one of the most beautiful and magical places that we visited: Seydisfjordur in the East Fjords. The drive was a little tense not being able to see very far in any direction, but the payoff was so worth it
• I’m used to the passing “rules” in the US where we typically get a couple car lengths ahead of the car we’re passing before getting back in the correct lane. The culture here is to get back in the correct lane as fast as humanly possible after passing, and before it really seems safe, no more than a car length ahead (stressful!). I guess when you live on a two-lane highway that is really the only option to travel very far, you get used to passing efficiently

Aside from that, I also loved everyone in the family getting a turn being my copilot up front and helping me call out all the beautiful scenery to make sure those in the back saw what we were seeing. Although I am looking forward to a break from driving such a massive vehicle so much every day, I am so glad we decided to tour Iceland in a motorhome, and that I got to be the captain of that ship.